Lankan fishing boats apprehended

8 January 2011 05:15 am Views - 3691

Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Sarang has apprehended two boats with 10 Sri Lankans for illegally fishing in Indian waters.

According to a CG release, on January 3, a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft during aerial surveillance off the Tamil Nadu coast detected the presence of two Lankan fishing boats well within the Indian maritime boundary line.

The boats were engaged in fishing in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zones. ICGS Sarang, an advanced offshore patrol vessel on regular deployment, was directed to intercept and apprehend the boats.

Enquiries revealed that the boats Lahru and Kavisha had sailed from Trincomalee Port in northeastern Sri Lanka and were apprehended while fishing at about 52 miles east of Nagapattinam on January 4. The boats were caught with about 1,000 kg of fish onboard.

Both the boats and its 10 crew members were being brought to Chennai Fishing Harbour (Kasimedu) and handed over to the police for further interrogation. This is the first apprehension of Sri Lankan fishing vessels by Indian Coast Guard in 2011. During the last year, a total of 103 boats were apprehended.(Express News Service)